Robert Cohen - Theatre, Brief Version-McGraw-Hill Education (2016)

Theatre 181
27. Tech Rehearsal Setup. The production
is now ready to move into technical
rehearsals, in which the acting and the
scenery, props, sound, and lighting are
brought together on the stage. Here,
Scenery Supervisor Zimmer determines
with Assistant Stage Manager Nicole
Lalonde which upper windows in the
scenery the actors will use when making
certain appearances. © Robert Cohen
28. Tech Walk. Assistant Stage Manager
Lalonde invites the actors to “walk the set.”
Having previously rehearsed only in a bare
room with stray tables and strips of masking
tape marking out the scenery elements, the
actors now have to “feel the scenery” with
their hands and feet as they navigate the
various doors, windows, and railings that
will actually be used. © Robert Cohen
29. Cue Lights. Production Stage Manager
Angi Weiss-Brandt “calls” the show—that
is, she times and calls the lighting,
sound, and scene-shift cues to the
appropriate operators over an intercom
system. She herself blinks the thirtyplus
cue lights in different backstage
locations, letting individual actors
know the precise moments when they
should make their entrances or offstage
cries and other sounds. Such remote
cuing is frequently necessary because
actors behind the scenery cannot see
the onstage action. During technical
rehearsals the stage manager’s console
is a table placed across the back rows
of the audience, as shown here; by the
time the show opens, the stage manager
will be at a console in a glassed-in booth
in the back of the house. © Robert Cohen